It’s the sort of compliment the Cavaliers will just have to take until they actually learn to win down the stretch.
“We had to fight for that,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said after the Heat rallied from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a tough 109-105 victory on Sunday night at American Airlines Arena.
LeBron James had 28 points and Dwyane Wade scored 15 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Heat, playing their fourth game in five nights, improved to 40-14.
Dion Waiters had 26 points, and C.J. Miles added 19 for the Cavs, who fell to 18-38. Kyrie Irving, who made just 6-of-6 shots, scored 17 points, and Tristan Thompson added 11 points and 12 rebounds as the Cavs lost their sixth straight game here. Their last win came on Jan. 25, 2010, before you-know-who took his talents to South Beach.
After watching his players come back from a 22-point deficit in the third quarter, Scott was just sick they gave the game away at the end.
“Mental mistakes, big-time mental mistakes,” Scott said through clenched teeth. “Those are things we have to learn from and they can’t happen anymore this season.
“We had our opportunity against a very good basketball team, against the world champions. And we lost the game because of mental mistakes. That’s something we just can’t have happen again.”
If all that sounds familiar, it should. The Cavs held a 108-101 lead with 1:58 left in their last visit here on Nov. 24 and lost, 110-108, after giving up a 9-0 run, including a wide-open 3-pointer by veteran sharpshooter Ray Allen, to close the game.
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